Conservative lawyers are warning Republicans against supporting presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump because of potential vacancies on the Supreme Court during the next presidency, saying that he would nominate “cronies,” is incapable of making “sound judicial selections,” and “hasn’t given a moment’s thought to the Constitution.”

Orin Kerr: Trump Will “Nominate Cronies Who Would Rubber-Stamp Whatever [He] Does.” George Washington University Law School professor and Federalist Society "expert" Orin Kerr said in a statement to The Weekly Standard that if he becomes president, Trump will “nominate cronies” who would “let Trump do what he wants”:

When Trump realizes that judges can block a President's actions, but that he gets to nominate judges, he'll put two and two together. He'll nominate cronies who would rubber-stamp whatever Trump does. That's not a conservative position or a liberal position. It's just a pro-Trump position.

If Trump has a choice between an originalist conservative with sterling credentials who would often block Trump, and buddy of his who hasn't read the Constitution but would let Trump do what he wants, who do you think Trump would pick? [The Weekly Standard, 5/9/16; The Federalist Society, accessed 5/10/16]

David Bernstein Asks Republican Voters: “Do You Really Want Donald Trump Choosing The Next Supreme Court Justice(s)?” George Mason University School of Law professor and CATO Institute adjunct scholar David Bernstein cited a torrent of Trump policy stances that may violate the U.S. Constitution to question Trump’s suitability to nominate Supreme Court justices in a February 15 post to The Washington Post’s Volokh Conspiracy blog:

Republican voters: Do you really want Donald Trump choosing the next Supreme Court justice? By all indications Trump hasn’t given a moment’s thought to the Constitution. I wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks the U.S. Constitution is a luxury yacht.

[…]

More recently, he has endorsed torturing terrorism suspects and killing terrorists’ families, domestic and treaty law be damned.

[…]

Do Republican voters really believe that Trump is the right man for the occasion? [The Washington Post, The Volokh Conspiracy, 2/15/16; CATO Institute, accessed 5/10/16]

Ed Whelan: There Is No Evidence That Trump “Would Make Sound Judicial Selections.” Conservative legal commentator Ed Whelan wrote that he “can’t discern an iota of evidence in favor of the proposition that Trump would make sound judicial selections” in a February 8 post to National Review’s Bench Memos blog. [National Review, 2/8/16]

ABOUT OUR RESEARCH

Our research section features in-depth media analysis, original reports illustrating skewed or inadequate coverage of important issues, thorough debunking of conservative falsehoods that find their way into coverage and other special projects from Media Matters' research department.